Julie Garwood - Come the Spring

piqued.

He grinned at her. "A while back, I ran into a bobcat and had to

wrestle with him. I got the scars all over my belly to prove it. If

you'd like to see . . . " "No, no, that's quite all right. I believe

you, " Grace rushed out.

The sheriff couldn't seem to take his eyes off Grace, and the rudeness

irritated Daniel. "Was there something I could help you with? " he

asked impatiently.

Bobcat vigorously nodded. "We've got some trouble here. I was telling

the porter about it, and he mentioned he'd seen you wearing a badge and

thought maybe you could help."

"What exactly is the problem? " Daniel asked, wishing the sheriff

would get to the point.

"Yesterday, Gladys Anderson's boy, Billy, pulled a man out of the

lake.

Billy was doing some fishing instead of going to work at the stables

like he was supposed to, but it was fortunate he's such a slacker. The

man would have drowned if Billy hadn't been there, and that's the

truth.

Billy saw it happen too."

"Saw what happen? " "Billy was sitting on his boat watching the train

go over the trestle when all of a sudden he sees a man come flying out

and plunging down into the water. The poor fella hit hard and went

right under, but Billy fished him out, and that's when he noticed the

man had been shot. I'm thinking he was thrown off that train." Grace

was horrified. "How awful, " she said.

"Is the gentleman going to recover? " Bobcat mournfully shook his

head. "Doc says he's in a real bad way, ma'am. Real bad. The bullet

went through, so Doc didn't have to dig it out, but infection already

set in. I figured you'd want to know, Marshal, being as the dying man

is one of yours." Daniel was already reaching for Grace to pull her

off the train.

"He was wearing a badge, " Bobcat explained. "And the porter told me

his name is Cooper. Do you know him? " "Where is he? " Daniel asked,

his voice sharp with fear and anger.

"Inside the way station. Doc wouldn't let us take him any further.

He's in one of the sleeping rooms upstairs. The marshal's fighting for

his life, but Doc doesn't think he's gonna make it." Shaken by what he

had just heard, Daniel grabbed Grace and quickened his pace toward the

building. The sheriff ran by his side.

"Did you question everyone on the train? " Daniel demanded.

"I did, " the sheriff answered. "One woman saw him going over the

trestle, but she didn't see anything else. No one heard the gunshot

either, " he added in a pant. "A window was shattered by one bullet,

and I figure two were fired. The second went through the marshal. "

Daniel reached the door to the way station, threw it open, and rushed

inside. His gaze was on the crowd sitting at the long tables waiting

for their food to be served. He kept Grace tucked into his side,

spotted the stairs in the corner, and headed across the room.

As they raced up the narrow steps, he glanced back at the sheriff.

"What about the woman Marshal Cooper was traveling with? Where is

she?

" "There weren't no woman."

"Yes, there was, " Daniel muttered.

"The porter told me the marshal had a woman with him, and other folks

remember seeing her getting on the train. She might have been there

when they started, but she weren't there when the train was stopped.

That's the God's truth."

"What about her things? " Grace asked.

"Did you find a valise or a bag? " "No, ma'am. We didn't find

anything. That compartment was empty, and there weren't nothing left

behind to prove a woman had ever been there." They reached the end of

the hallway, where the physician was standing.

He nodded to Daniel and then opened the door and went back inside.

"Grace, wait with the sheriff out here, " Daniel said. "Sheriff, don't

let anyone up those stairs. You understand me? " "What do you want me

to do if someone wants to come up? " "Shoot him." The sheriff's eyes

widened. Grace waited until Daniel had gone inside Cooper's room

before bowing her head and saying a silent prayer that his friend would

survive. "Was the missing woman Marshal Cooper's wife? " Bobcat

asked.

"No, " she answered. "They weren't related. Marshal Cooper was

escorting Rebecca to Texas."

"Well, where in tarnation is she? " Grace shook her head. "I don't

know, " she whispered.

A shiver passed down her arms. Rebecca had vanished.

God help her.

Xaniel kept vigil by his friend's side all through the night. Cooper,

locked in a fitful sleep, was having nightmares and mumbling words

about monsters and traitors that didn't make any sense.

Grace took care of practical matters. She asked the porter to remove

their bags from the train, ordered a tray of food be sent up for Daniel

to eat later if and when his appetite returned, and kept Sheriff Bobcat

company at the small round table in the corridor adjacent to Cooper's

room.

The sheriff kept up a constant flow of chatter while he and Grace ate

supper together. The food was bland but filling, and an hour later she

couldn't remember what had been served. Her mind was filled with fear

for Marshal Cooper and Rebecca.

The physician came out of Cooper's room around nine that evening. He

shook his head sorrowfully and told the sheriff there was little

improvement.

"I opened the wound near the rib cage to drain the infection. I don't

know what good it will do now, though. The man's burning up with

fever. I mixed up a batch of my herb brew, and if I could only get him

to wake up long enough to swallow some, I know it would do him some

good."

"You can't get Marshal Cooper to wake up? " Grace asked, her worry

apparent in her trembling voice.

"No, ma'am, I can't, " the doctor answered. He scratched his whiskered

jaw and added, "That poor man is delirious and ranting and raving about

monsters."

"Sounds like he's plumb out of his head, " Bobcat interjected.

The physician agreed with his friend's diagnosis. "It looks that

way.

I don't believe there's anything more to be done tonight. I'm going to

go on home and get a couple of hours sleep. Then I'll venture back

here and have another look at him. Miss, if you don't mind me saying

so, you look awful weary. Why don't you find a bed with clean sheets

and get some rest." {We got her all fixed up in the room next to your

patient. It's the only door with a lock on it up here." After the

doctor went down the stairs, Bobcat turned to Grace. "I'm right proud

to be of help to Marshal Ryan, and now that I know you need protecting,

I'll just set myself outside your door with my loaded rifle."

"Do you think that's necessary? The train left hours ago, and the only

other people here are the owners."

"Of course it's necessary. The Blackwater gang ain't going to knock on

the door and ask if they can come inside and shoot you. They'll try to

sneak in. Now, don't argue with me. You go on ahead into your room

and get some sleep. I'll keep my eyes open." Grace didn't argue. The

room she'd been assigned was sparsely furnished. There was a bed with

a wooden headboard, a chest of drawers, and three hooks on the wall to

hang her clothes on. She put her gloves and hat on top of the dresser,

and then went right back out into the hallway.

"I'm just going to look in on Daniel for a moment, " she explained as

she hurried past the sheriff before he could try to stop her, "I won't

be long." She didn't knock on Cooper's door, for she knew that Daniel

would send her back to her room. She simply went inside and quietly

shut the door behind her.

Daniel was standing at the window but turned when she entered the

room.

His surprise at seeing her was quickly replaced with a frown.

"What are you doing here? You should be getting ready for bed. You're

going to have to get up early tomorrow."

"I would like to help you take care of your friend."

"There isn't anything you can do." He looked haggard and sounded

defeated. It was as though he had already accepted Cooper's death and

was mourning him. She wanted to tell him to have hope, but she didn't

think anything that she said would change his attitude.

"You're exhausted, " she said. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll

sit with Marshal Cooper. You still haven't recovered from the

influenza."

"Don't fuss over me, " he growled.

She gave up trying to talk sense to the obstinate man and turned her

attention to Cooper. He was sleeping on his back in the double bed

with just a sheet covering him to his waist. He was as still as

death.

A thick bandage was wrapped around his middle, and there were spots of

bright red blood seeping through the white packing. His complexion was

a chalky gray, and in the dim light from the two lanterns on the

bedside tables, Cooper looked as though his next breath would be his

last.

"The doctor couldn't get him to wake up and drink the medicine? "

"No.

He kept choking." She got down to business, unbuttoned the cuffs of